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Fast-growing aquarium plants

Fast-growing aquarium plants — mostly bunch stems and floaters — can add an inch or more a week in good conditions, and that speed is a tool: they soak up the ammonia and nitrate spikes of a new tank and starve algae of the surplus. The honest trade-off is labor. Anything that grows an inch a week needs topping and replanting on a schedule, or the lower portions shade out and go leggy. Plant fast species heavily at setup, then swap some out for slower growers once the tank matures.

39 species match, 27 in stock at AquaticMotiv

The species, easiest first

  1. 1Amazon Frogbit

    Amazon Frogbit

    Limnobium laevigatum
    • Easy
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 1"

    Amazon Frogbit floats rosettes of round, lily-pad leaves with long feathery roots that shelter fry and shrimp while stripping nutrients from the water column.

    $7.99 Out of stockCare profile →
  2. 2Anacharis

    Anacharis

    Egeria densa
    • Easy
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 36"

    Anacharis is the classic coldwater workhorse — fast, cheap, and content from an unheated goldfish tank to a tropical community.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
  3. 3Duckweed

    Duckweed

    Lemna minor
    • Easy
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 1"

    Duckweed is the fastest nutrient exporter in the hobby: a film of pinhead-sized fronds that doubles in days, starving algae and feeding herbivorous fish in the process.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
  4. 4Dwarf Lily

    Dwarf Lily

    Nymphaea stellata
    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 16"

    The Dwarf Lily grows from a bulb into a rosette of arrow-shaped leaves that range from green to deep red and bronze depending on light.

    $5.99 Out of stockCare profile →
  5. 5Giant Duckweed

    Giant Duckweed

    Spirodela polyrhiza
    • Easy
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 1"

    Giant Duckweed is the larger cousin of common duckweed, with rounder fronds up to about a quarter inch across and several trailing roots beneath each, making it easier to net out than tiny Lemna.

    $7.99 Out of stockCare profile →
  6. 6Guppy Grass

    Guppy Grass

    Najas guadalupensis
    • Easy
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 24"

    Guppy Grass is a brittle, fast-growing stem plant that can be planted, left to float, or wedged into hardscape, making it one of the most flexible nutrient exporters in the hobby.

    $6.99 Out of stockCare profile →
  7. 7Helanthium Bolivianum 'Quadricostatus'

    Helanthium Bolivianum 'Quadricostatus'

    Helanthium bolivianum 'Quadricostatus'
    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 6"

    Helanthium 'Quadricostatus' is a small chain-sword that sends out runners to form a bright green grassy carpet in the foreground or midground.

    $6.99 In stockCare profile →
  8. 8Hornwort

    Hornwort

    Ceratophyllum demersum
    • Easy
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 40"

    Hornwort is less a plant you grow than a green engine you deploy: rootless, indestructible across a 35-degree temperature range, and so fast-growing it routinely out-eats algae in new setups.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
  9. 9Hygrophila Angustifolia

    Hygrophila Angustifolia

    Hygrophila corymbosa 'Angustifolia'
    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 24"

    Willow Hygro grows long, narrow leaves that arch and sway in the current like a submerged willow — the easiest way to add motion to a tall background.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
  10. 10Hygrophila Corymbosa

    Hygrophila Corymbosa

    Hygrophila corymbosa
    • Easy
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 24"

    Hygrophila corymbosa is a big, broad-leaved background stem that turns a bare back wall into a green hedge in weeks, no CO2 required.

    $9.19 In stockCare profile →
  11. 11Hygrophila Salicifolia (Hygro Blue)

    Hygrophila Salicifolia (Hygro Blue)

    Hygrophila salicifolia
    • Easy
    • Low light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 18"

    Hygrophila salicifolia is a fast, undemanding willow-leaf stem plant that grows in low to moderate light without CO2, making it a reliable nutrient sponge for new tanks.

    $8.99 In stockCare profile →
  12. 12Hygrophila Siamensis

    Hygrophila Siamensis

    Hygrophila corymbosa 'Siamensis'
    • Easy
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 20"

    Siamensis is the mid-sized member of the corymbosa family — smaller leaves and a bushier habit than the full Temple Plant, with the same iron constitution.

    $6.99 In stockCare profile →
  13. 13Jungle Val

    Jungle Val

    Vallisneria americana
    • Easy
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 36"

    Jungle Val grows ribbon leaves a yard long that bend and flow across the surface, creating the jungle-stream canopy look with zero technology: low light, no CO2, hard water welcome.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
  14. 14Ludwigia Palustris

    Ludwigia Palustris

    Ludwigia palustris
    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 10"

    Ludwigia palustris is a compact, small-leaved red stem that colors up at lower light than almost any other red plant — solid medium light produces rusty red tops even without CO2.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
  15. 15Ludwigia Peruensis

    Ludwigia Peruensis

    Ludwigia peruensis
    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 18"

    Ludwigia peruensis is a fast, large-leaved red stem plant that brings bold orange-to-red foliage to the background without the fussiness of finer Ludwigias.

    $6.99 In stockCare profile →
  16. 16Ludwigia Repens

    Ludwigia Repens

    Ludwigia repens
    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 20"

    Ludwigia repens is the easiest red stem plant in the hobby — coppery-red undersides even in modest setups, deepening to full red as light increases.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
  17. 17Mexican Oak Leaf

    Mexican Oak Leaf

    Shinnersia rivularis
    • Easy
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 24"

    Mexican Oak Leaf is a vigorous green stem plant named for its lobed, oak-like leaves, and it grows fast enough to outcompete algae in a newly set-up tank.

    $6.99 Out of stockCare profile →
  18. 18Narrow-Leaf Chain Sword

    Narrow-Leaf Chain Sword

    Helanthium tenellum
    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 4"

    The narrow-leaf chain sword is the fastest natural lawn for a medium-light tank: grass-like rosettes that fire off runner after runner until the foreground is a meadow.

    $6.99 In stockCare profile →
  19. 19Pearl Weed

    Pearl Weed

    Hemianthus glomeratus
    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 8"

    Pearl Weed is the shape-shifter of aquascaping: trimmed hard it creeps into a tight carpet, left taller it builds dense bright-green mounds and hedges, all on tiny paired leaves.

    $6.99 In stockCare profile →
  20. 20Red Root Floaters

    Red Root Floaters

    Phyllanthus fluitans
    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 1"

    Red Root Floaters are the showpiece floating plant: under strong light the leaves flush deep red and the trailing crimson roots match.

    $10.99 In stockCare profile →
  21. 21Red Tiger Lotus

    Red Tiger Lotus

    Nymphaea zenkeri
    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 12"

    Red Tiger Lotus erupts from a bulb into a fountain of burgundy, tiger-streaked leaves — the easiest deep-red focal plant in the hobby, needing no CO2 to color up.

    $4.89 In stockCare profile →
  22. 22Rotala Rotundifolia

    Rotala Rotundifolia

    Rotala rotundifolia
    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 20"

    Rotala rotundifolia is the standard background stem of nature-style aquascaping: fast, forgiving, and quick to form the soft pink-orange bushes seen behind iwagumi stone work.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
  23. 23Salvinia Cucullata

    Salvinia Cucullata

    Salvinia cucullata
    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 1"

    Salvinia cucullata is a floating fern whose paired leaves fold upward into little cupped pockets, giving it a distinctive bead-like texture quite different from the flat, hairy Salvinia minima.

    $8.99 In stockCare profile →
  24. 24Salvinia Minima

    Salvinia Minima

    Salvinia minima
    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 1"

    Salvinia minima is a small floating fern whose fuzzy, water-repellent leaf pairs spread into a quilted surface mat — large enough to net out easily, unlike duckweed, but just as effective at shading and nitrate export.

    $6.99 In stockCare profile →
  25. 25Salvinia Natans

    Salvinia Natans

    Salvinia natans
    • Easy
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 1"

    Salvinia natans is a floating fern with paired oval leaves covered in tiny water-repellent hairs that keep it riding high and dry on the surface, shading the tank and exporting nutrients fast.

    $4.99 Out of stockCare profile →
  26. 26Vallisneria Spiralis

    Vallisneria Spiralis

    Vallisneria spiralis
    • Easy
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 24"

    Vallisneria spiralis is the tank-sized Val: the same effortless ribbon-grass look as Jungle Val, but topping out around two feet instead of three, so it suits standard aquariums without constant leaf-folding at the surface.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
  27. 27Water Lettuce

    Water Lettuce

    Pistia stratiotes
    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 3"

    Water Lettuce floats velvety, ribbed rosettes with long feathery roots that fish fry and shrimp treat as nursery habitat, while the plant itself strips nitrates faster than almost anything else in the tank.

    $6.99 In stockCare profile →
  28. 28Water Sprite

    Water Sprite

    Ceratopteris thalictroides
    • Easy
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 18"

    Water Sprite is a fast, lacy fern that works planted or floating, growing dense thickets that bettas and fry treat as furniture.

    $6.99 In stockCare profile →
  29. 29Water Wisteria

    Water Wisteria

    Hygrophila difformis
    • Easy
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 20"

    Water Wisteria is a fast, lacy-leaved stem plant that thrives on neglect and drinks up excess nutrients, making it one of the best plants for a new tank fighting algae.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
  30. 30Aponogeton Ulvaceus

    Aponogeton Ulvaceus

    Aponogeton ulvaceus
    • Medium
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 24"

    Aponogeton ulvaceus grows from a bulb into a fountain of translucent, ruffled light-green leaves that can fill the back of a large tank quickly.

    $6.99 Out of stockCare profile →
  31. 31Green Myrio (Foxtail)

    Green Myrio (Foxtail)

    Myriophyllum pinnatum
    • Medium
    • High light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 16"

    Green Myrio is a feathery stem plant whose finely divided whorls give a soft, cloud-like texture prized in Dutch and nature layouts.

    $6.99 Out of stockCare profile →
  32. 32Hydrocotyle Tripartita

    Hydrocotyle Tripartita

    Hydrocotyle tripartita
    • Medium
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 4"

    Hydrocotyle tripartita is a fast, versatile creeper with small three-lobed, clover-like leaves on wiry stems that can be grown as a low foreground carpet, a midground bush, or trailing over hardscape.

    $6.99 Out of stockCare profile →
  33. 33Limnophila Hippuridoides

    Limnophila Hippuridoides

    Limnophila hippuridoides
    • Medium
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 16"

    Limnophila hippuridoides grows whorls of feathery leaves that flush deep purple-red underneath under good light, giving a soft, bushy texture in the midground or background.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
  34. 34Riccia

    Riccia

    Riccia fluitans
    • Medium
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 2"

    Riccia is technically a liverwort, and it leads a double life: left alone it floats as a tangle of bright forked ribbons, but tied over flat stones under strong light and CO2 it becomes the famous pearling 'Riccia stone' carpet that Takashi Amano built nature aquascaping around.

    $6.99 Out of stockCare profile →
  35. 35Rotala 'H'ra'

    Rotala 'H'ra'

    Rotala rotundifolia 'H'ra'
    • Medium
    • High light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 16"

    Rotala 'H'ra' is the color-upgraded form of Rotala rotundifolia, shifting orange-red under high light where the standard species only blushes pink.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
  36. 36Glossostigma

    Glossostigma

    Glossostigma elatinoides
    • Advanced
    • High light
    • CO2 required
    • Max 1"

    Glossostigma is one of the smallest carpeting plants, forming a low lawn of tiny paired round leaves that hugs the substrate when conditions are right.

    $6.99 Out of stockCare profile →
  37. 37Ludwigia Inclinata 'Cuba'

    Ludwigia Inclinata 'Cuba'

    Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Cuba'
    • Advanced
    • High light
    • CO2 required
    • Max 20"

    Ludwigia 'Cuba' is a showpiece for high-tech tanks: whorls of narrow copper-orange leaves that can dominate a Dutch background — and a plant that genuinely will not perform without injected CO2, high light, and rich, consistent fertilization.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
  38. 38Madagascar Lace Plant

    Madagascar Lace Plant

    Aponogeton madagascariensis
    • Advanced
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 20"

    The Madagascar Lace Plant grows leaves that are pure latticework — a skeleton of veins with open windows between them, unlike anything else in the hobby.

    $7.99 In stockCare profile →
  39. 39Pogostemon Stellatus

    Pogostemon Stellatus

    Pogostemon stellatus
    • Advanced
    • High light
    • CO2 required
    • Max 16"

    Pogostemon stellatus crowns each stem with a starburst of narrow leaves that flush pink-to-purple under intense light — one of the most striking background stems in aquascaping, and one of the fussiest.

    $5.99 Out of stockCare profile →

Narrow it to your exact tank

The plant finder ranks these against your tank size, light, CO2, and goals — with honest care expectations.

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Frequently asked questions

Do fast-growing plants help cycle a new aquarium?

They help meaningfully — fast growers consume ammonia directly, softening the spikes that stress early fish and feed algae blooms. A heavily planted new tank with fast species is the closest thing to a shortcut the nitrogen cycle allows.

How often do fast-growing aquarium plants need trimming?

In a fertilized, well-lit tank, expect to top stems every one to two weeks. The trim itself is quick — cut, replant the tops, discard or share the rest — but it is a standing appointment, not an occasional chore.

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